The Mustang Chronicles
by ZaKai
Summary: A collection of drabbles that touch on Roy Mustang’s life starting from the time he joins the military. Expect humor, angst, general stuff, etc. [NonYaoi, may have some light RoyRiza themes here and there, bits of parental!Roy later in the story]
1. Basic Training

**A/N:** This is being written for the 100moods community on LiveJournal. These will all be from Roy's POV, because each of the chapters are supposed to be prompted by him being in a specific mood.

I debated on whether to post this on ff.n or not, but as you can see I decided to. Instead of doing random drabbles from prompts, I wanted to actually make some sort of a story out of this. Therefore most of this will be in chronological order of his life, just hitting on specific points.

Some of the chapters will be short (like this one), some will be long.

Hope you enjoy.

- Z

**The Mustang Chronicles**

**Prompt: Embarrassed **

**Basic Training**

Standing at attention, eighteen year-old Private Roy Mustang blanched slightly when the drill sergeant leaned in close, looked at him, then yelled, "Well looky here! Seems we've got ourselves a _pretty boy_! What's a _pretty_ thing like you doing in the army?"

Roy fidgeted, and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, the drill sergeant yelled, "Speak up boy! This is a _man's_ army! You hear me?"

When he nodded the drill sergeant yelled, "I can't _hear_ you boy!"

"Yes."

"Yes _what_?"

"Yes sir."

The large drill sergeant laughed, then shouted, "Louder girly boy! Speak up like a _man_! I don't want to hear no dainty womanly responses!"

"Yes sir!" Roy yelled, feeling more than a little embarrassed, by what the tall, brown haired drill sergeant was saying.

The other man grinned. "I'm going to make a _man_ out of you son," he said in a regular tone, then patted Roy on the cheek in a condescending manner before moving onto the next recruit.

The young, dark haired man from the East watched out of the corner of his eye as the drill sergeant went on to embarrass the next recruit, a man taller than himself with hair combed back, a small stubble type beard and funky looking glasses. This man seemed to be taking it all in stride though, and with a good sense of humor.

Roy felt his cheeks burn in embarrassment at the thought that maybe the drill sergeant was right… He knew he tended to be too sensitive sometimes. In fact, that had been one of the reasons his mother had been against him joining, but Roy wanted to help people and he thought that perhaps this was the best way to go about it. There wasn't exactly many options available in his home town, and he didn't want to be stuck working on his father's farm forever.

Now though, he was beginning to rethink his decision…


	2. A New Friend

**-2-**

**The Mustang Chronicles**

**Prompt: Grateful  
****  
****A New Friend**

After a week in basic training, Roy was ready to call it quits. The drill sergeant had it out for him personally, and many of the other guys had decided they'd treat him the same way. 'Pretty Boy' was now his official nickname. This meant that he also had to deal being told not to drop the soap in the shower, and various other insulting jokes that he didn't find to be funny at all.

Sighing, Roy turned the page of his book and tried to block out the annoying sounds coming from the other men in the room. They were granted little enough free time as it was, and he wanted to try catching up on his studies. Suddenly the book was torn from his hands followed by the sound of raucous laughter.

"Whatcha readin' pretty boy?" asked a well muscled man in his early twenties.

"I could tell you, but if you can't read what it says on the cover, then you probably wouldn't know what I was talking about anyway," Roy said irritably.

The man glared at him while the other four guys laughed. Another recruit grabbed the book and studied the title for a moment before rolling his eyes. "Alchemy? Not only are you a pansy, but you're a nerd too?"

Roy's cheeks grew warm. He hated himself for letting these morons embarrass him like this.

Suddenly a voice called, "Okay, come on; give the guy back his book." This was followed by 'Mr. Popular', as Roy had started thinking of him since everyone seemed to like him, squeezing between two of the guys, and grabbing the book. "I'm sure you have more interesting things to do than pick on him, now go on," he said, making a shooing motion with his hands.

"Yeah, come on, this was getting boring anyway," one of them said as they left.

'Mr. Popular' sat down beside him with a grin, then opened the book and leafed through the pages. "Man… I don't understand any of this stuff…"

"Well, that's one of the more advanced texts…" Roy muttered uncomfortably, unsure of what this guy was up to.

'Mr. Popular' rubbed idly at his chin, then frowned slightly. Roy thought it probably had to do with the fact that 'the powers that be' made him shave off the little stubbly beard he'd had when he'd first arrived.

Suddenly a grin spread on the other man's face. Letting the book flop closed, the man stuck out his hand and said, "Maes Hughes".

Roy glanced at the proffered hand for a moment before hesitantly shaking it. "Roy Mustang…"

"I think we should be friends, Roy," Maes said cheerfully.

"Why?" Roy asked. He supposed it was a dumb, and rude, thing to say, but the other man's open nature was throwing him off his guard.

Instead of being offended, Hughes said, "Because, I think you need a friend."

"So…what? I'm a supposed to be _grateful_ for your _magnaminious_ offer?"

Grinning, Maes pounded him on the back, then stood up before saying, "Don't be ridiculous. _I _need friends too. Seems to me you'll be a good one too. Got to go, but see you around." And with that he was gone.

Roy thought about what had just happened. In a matter of minutes, 'Mr. Popular', 'Mr. Self-Assured', 'Mr. Sense-of-Humor', had just become his friend. The man had said, not out right but in a round about way, that he didn't need to feel grateful, but truthfully…

He did.


	3. Salt

**-3-**

**The Mustang Chronicles**

**Prompt: None**

**Salt**

Roy stared down at the mess on his tray that was _supposed to_ be breakfast and poked it with his fork.

"Spare no expense, do they?" Maes asked cheerfully as he sat down beside him.

"I guess not…" he mumbled. After three weeks, Roy thought that he should probably be used to what they were fed, but he wasn't. He was desperately craving the meaty slabs of bacon, eggs, fried potatoes, and thick crusty pieces of homemade bread his mother made.

Sighing, Roy took a bite of his mystery breakfast and quickly gulped down some coffee. It wasn't that the food was _bad_… exactly… it was just that it wasn't nearly as good as the food his mother made…

"So, you up for more today?" Hughes asked around a mouthful of food.

Roy scowled. Not only was Maes more popular than him, but he was also stronger and able to run faster than him. It had become a contest of sorts. Roy was determined to out do this man who had quickly become a good friend. Somehow, he was going to find his niche and he would out do him.

"Oh come on, Roy… You need to find yourself a sense of humor."

"I have a sense of humor," he mumbled, knowing he was being teased.

"Riiiight," Maes said. "You going to eat that?" he asked, pointing a fork and Roy's food.

"Only _you_ would want to eat seconds of this," Roy growled.

Hughes dragged his finger across the empty tray and stuck it in his mouth before saying, "I'm going to see if they'll give me more." Roy watched his friend. They both knew there were no seconds, but that never stopped Hughes from trying.

He turned back and took a bite of his food while shaking his head. Suddenly he stopped shaking his head and let his eyes rest on the salt shaker in front of him. He looked over to where Maes was still trying to convince the kitchen staff to give him more, then Quickly, Roy took the top off the salt shaker and dumped half the bottle in Maes' coffee before hurriedly putting the top back on.

A few minutes later, Hughes sat down with a sigh.

"No luck?" Roy asked, taking another bite.

"Nope," his friend said dejectedly.

Deciding it was time to make his escape, Roy pushed his tray over and said, "Here, you have this. I think I'm done."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I think so," the eighteen year-old said, and gulped down the rest of his coffee. "Well, see ya," Roy said and hurried away. When he thought he was far enough away, Roy turned back in time to see Maes take a deep drink of the coffee.

Suddenly, the taller man's face screwed up, and he spit the drink out. Wiping his mouth, Hughes turned his head and looked around. When he saw Roy, Maes brought his finger over his throat in a slashing gesture, then pointed at Roy.

Grinning, Roy waved and started off again. No sense of humor indeed.

* * *

**As you can see there was no 'mood' prompt for this one. There are a few things I want to write concerning this story that just don't 'fit' into any of the 'mood prompts' that I've been given.**


	4. Pictures

** -4-**

**The Mustang Chronicles**

**Prompt: Curious **

**Pictures**

"Oooooh! They came!" Maes exclaimed in excitement. He clutched the padded envelope to his chest and looked around the recreation room suspiciously for the drill sergeant.

Roy looked up from what he was reading and said, "What's that?"

Maes glanced at him, and said with a grin, "I don't know if I should show you."

"What? Why not?" He knew the man was trying to bait him, but he didn't care.

Maes held the package up and wiggled it with a sly grin, "I dunnoooo, this might be a little much for a young pup like you to handle."

Roy glared at the comment about his age, and said, "Just show me."

Hughes put a finger to his chin. "Weeeell…."

The dark haired recruit made a sound of exasperation. He was curious, but also impatient. His friend obviously wanted to show him, and Roy was obviously curious; he wanted to just skip the games and get on with it.

The taller man seemed to sense it was time to get on with it and looked around again before sitting down next to Roy and opening the package. "I left what little stuff I own with a friend before I left, and I asked him if he'd send these to me. Just hate being without them, you know?"

Something Maes wouldn't want to be without? Roy's curiosity was growing even more. He watched as Hughes slid the contents, a stack of pictures, out into his hand.

Pictures?

What was the big deal about…

Suddenly Maes thrust one of the pictures in front of his face. Roy's eyes went big and he felt blood rush to his face. This was a picture of…

"I like to keep pictures of all my old girlfriends and fuck buddies," Hughes said. "This is Sara, and this," he put another picture up, "is Maria, and Brittanie, and…"

Roy watched in shock as the man rattled off names. Each picture contained a different girl in a very provocative or compromising position. He thought that perhaps he should look away or something, but he couldn't. He'd never even _kissed _a girl, let alone seen one naked. He'd never even seen _pictures_ of naked girls… He crossed his legs and laid his book down in his lap trying to hide how the pictures were affecting him.

"What are you doing with those?" he was finally able to say.

Maes looked at him and said, "What do you mean?"

"You…they're…" he stuttered. Part of him wanted to grab the photos and study them closely to satisfy his more base curiosity, another part of him was shocked and embarrassed at what he was seeing.

"I _love_ taking pictures. I usually keep some pictures with me at all times, but I heard that the bags were going to be inspected so I didn't bring any. Didn't want to lose any of my _precious_ pictures," he said with a wink to Roy, then kissed one of them.

"Okay…you have issues…" Roy said, then let his eyes fall back on the stack of photos.

"Wanna see the rest?" Hughes asked in a tone that said he already knew the answer.

Roy blushed even deeper, but his curiosity got the better of him and he nodded.


	5. Military Material

** -5-**

**The Mustang Chronicles**

**Prompt: Confused**

**Military Material**

Roy took a deep breath and nervously knocked on the door.

"Come," came the response.

Letting out a long breath, the young recruit let himself into the small office. "You wanted to see me, sir?" he asked the drill sergeant.

"Sit down, son," the intimidating man said kindly.

Feeling more than a little confused, not only at being asked to come here but also at the sergeant's unusually nice tone, Roy lowered himself into one of the two chairs that were positioned in front of the desk. The drill sergeant, Miles Roham, leaned back in his chair and studied the dark haired teen over steepled fingers.

After several minutes of silence the older man finally said, "Private Mustang…why are you here?"

"Sir? Because you asked me to come here…"

The larger man's lips quirked up for a moment in amusement, then he said, "Not here in my office, here in the military. Why did you join up?"

"Oh…" he said, feeling incredibly stupid. "Well, sir…I'd like to help people, and I thought that this might be the best way to go about it."

"Boy, the only way you're going to help people in the military is to help them to their grave," the older man said darkly. Roy frowned, but said nothing and after a moment the other man said, "You're from the East, some small farming town out there, right?"

Roy nodded, and the man continued. "Let me guess… You got tired of working on your dad's farm and wanted to get away from all that."

Roy blushed slightly. "Well, yes sir, but I really _do _want to help people…"

"And how do you plan to accomplish this?"

The eighteen year-old's blush deepened in embarrassment, and when he mumbled a reply the drill sergeant said, "Say that again…"

"Sir…I want to become a State Alchemist."

The older man's eyes darkened and he said, "I really don't see how you'll be able to help others in _that_ occupation."

"Well, their motto is "Alchemists, be thou for the people…"

Roy trailed off when the man began laughing a laugh with no humor in it. "Let me tell you something. All of that is just a load of shit. Them State Alchemists are weapons to kill people, nothing more." The drill sergeant leaned forward and put his hands on his desk. "You know why I called you in here?"

Roy shook his head.

The man studied him for a moment, then said with a sigh, "Son… you really aren't military material." Roy frowned in confusion, feeling slightly hurt at that. "You're a good kid, a smart kid, but you're no soldier. You belong in a university or something, not here. If you _really_ want to become a State Alchemist, you can do that without joining up with the regular military, but I think you should reconsider that."

"Sir?"

Another sigh, then, "You're a kind person. Soft. Too soft to be a soldier, let alone a State Alchemist."

Roy cast his mind around in confusion, looking for something to say. "Are you saying that you're going to make me go home?" he finally asked.

"I can't _make_ you go if you haven't done anything wrong, private, but you lag behind everyone else. You're slower, and weaker than all the other recruits, and I've watched how they all single you out for taunts and insults." Roy wanted to say something along the lines of, 'Well, sir, you started it with the _pretty boy_ remarks', but decided that might not be the best thing to say, so he kept quiet. "I think it might be in your best interest to go home, but I'm not going to make you."

For a while there was an uncomfortable silence in the room, then Roy said, "Is that all, sir?"

The other man seemed irritated at something, perhaps the fact that Roy hadn't agreed right there and then to go home, but just nodded and grunted, "Dismissed."

The teen stood, saluted and let himself out of the office. For a moment he stood in the hallway replaying the conversation in his head, trying to make sense of it. Maybe the man was right…but…

He sighed and started walking.

The easiest thing would be to give up and go home, but then he'd have to admit that he'd failed… Roy continued back to the barracks feeling torn and confused about what to do.

* * *

**A/N: I'm unsure about if I really need to make a note about this, but since I write so much yaoi, I think I'd better make it clear. This story is non-yaoi. There is also no specific paring for this story. I wanted to make sure that everyone knew what to expect with this (or at least where yaoi/non-yaoi is concerned). I hope you'll all keep reading, but if you choose not to, I understand. **

**- Z**


	6. Self Disclosure

** -6-**

**The Mustang Chronicles**

**Prompt: Thoughtful**

**Self-Disclosure**

"What's this? No book?"

Roy looked up from where he was sitting and saw a bemused looking Maes Hughes looking down at him. Instead of answering, he shrugged and returned his gaze to staring at nothing in particular.

After a moment, Maes sat down and said, "Nice night out isn't it?"

Another shrug.

It wasn't that Roy was trying to ignore his friend; on the contrary, he was glad for the company. It was just that he didn't know what to say. What the drill sergeant had said was true. He _was_ slower and weaker than everyone else, but it wasn't like it was a _huge_ difference…

Perhaps if he'd done tons of manual labor back home it would make a difference, but his dad hired people to do stuff like that. Roy mostly helped with the business end of running the farm, though he'd definitely milked his share of cows…

"I don't like seeing people with frowns, especially friends," the taller man said, then reached into his pocket. "How about I show you some of my…"

"No thanks," he muttered.

Maes paused. "You sure?"

"I don't think your girly pictures are going to help me much…"

"You're no fun…So, fine, tell me what's with the long face then?" Maes said more directly this time.

Roy looked at Hughes and frowned. "I had a…meeting…with Sergeant Roham today."

"Ech…what did he want?"

With a sigh, Roy said, "He said I wasn't military material; said I'd be better off going home."

Maes raised an eyebrow and said, "You serious?"

He nodded glumly.

"You didn't really _listen_ to him did you?"

Roy dropped his head in his hands and muttered, "Why not? It's the truth. I'm just a wuss. I probably should take his advice and le…"

Before he could finish, Maes grabbed his shoulders and turned him to face him. "That's just a bunch of bullshit, Roy. You're no wuss, and I've seen you improve a lot physically since we came here. That's more than can be said for the other guys' mental abilities. That fucker doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. You'd better not even _think_ about leaving!"

Roy blinked. He hadn't expected such a response.

"I mean it!" Hughes exclaimed when he saw Roy's expression. "You try to leave and I'll drag your ass back here."

"I don't see why it matters to you if I stay or go," the younger recruit muttered.

"It matters because you're my friend."

"You have plenty of other people to hang out with," Roy said with a wave of his hand. "You won't miss me."

Hughes stared at him with a hard look for several moments, then said, "Do you really think leaving is going to make everything better?"

He shrugged.

"Leaving is only going to solve your temporary problems. We're already halfway done with this. Roham is a prick for even suggesting you should leave. Personally, I just think he's jealous that you're smarter and better looking than he is."

The comment was so unexpected that Roy snorted in a short laugh.

"Well, it's true," Hughes said with a small chuckle.

"Maybe…" he said noncommittally, the humor quickly evaporating.

For several minutes, they sat there in silence. Roy tried to think of what he should do. Leaving was a very attractive idea, but then again, having to go home without finishing basic training was definitely not something he wanted to deal with.

"Maes," he said finally.

"Hm?"

"Why did you join up?"

"Don't you know?" Maes asked with a chuckle. Roy looked at him and shook his head. "Five words, Roy. Chicks. Dig. Guys. In. Uniform."

Roy's frown deepened. "You're not serious…"

"It's true. Girls love a man in uniform," Hughes said with a wink.

The eighteen year-old made an exasperated sound and looked away again. He should have known…

After a few minutes of silence, Maes said seriously, "It was my last option." Roy looked back at his friend whose face had taken on a somber look. "You grew up in the country with a family, so you might not understand where I'm coming from, but…"

Maes leaned back and looked up at the sky. "I was the oldest, and the only boy, out of five children. My father abandoned us when I was very young, and my mother was left to raise us on her own. She had no education, no family, no…no nothing."

He sighed, "We lived in this little…I don't know…shanty?" A shrug. "She washed laundry to feed us, but it wasn't enough. Even with me doing whatever little odd jobs I could do, it wasn't enough. I think it just became too much for her…"

Hughes trailed off and there was silence for a moment before he said, "One day, she was just gone. The few possessions that meant anything to her were gone as well. I guess I understand. It must be hard to see your children not getting enough to eat, and knowing you can't do anything more about it, but…"

The man ran a hand through his hair. "So I was left to take care of my sisters…I did everything I could. I worked little jobs, I begged, I stole…" He glanced at Roy, then looked away before whispering, "Anything…"

Roy frowned in thought.

That one word seemed to have a lot of meaning behind it…

"You know… I even joined the local gang. It's how I became so good with a knife." He grinned humorlessly. "I usually carry one on me, but they wouldn't let me have one here…" Again he looked at Roy. "But you know what?"

Roy shook his head.

"It still wasn't enough. The State found us and took my sisters away… I never saw them again. They put me in some sort of foster home, but I ran away. You know, went back to my gang because they were the only people left that I could remotely call family…"

Maes swallowed hard and blinked rapidly.

"After that, Roy…I didn't care. I didn't care about anything. I drank a lot, did a little of the more 'harmless' drugs, slept around quite a bit, anything to get my mind off of what was happening in real life."

He shook his head. "I got into a lot of fights; committed crimes that I'm not proud of… The law officers in the area began to know who I was, but they were never able to bust me on anything other than minor things. But you know what, Roy?"

Roy gave him a questioning look.

"Everyone has their breaking point, and everyone has their bottom of the pit. For me, losing my sisters was my breaking point."

Maes turned and looked the younger man in the eyes. "The bottom of the pit was worse. One day I woke up in a strange bed filled with…I don't know how many naked people… I had a hangover from hell. I realized I still needed to find a place to hide the body of a rival gang member. I owed money to various individuals. I had a criminal record a mile long. I didn't really have an education. Basically, Roy, I really didn't have anything worth living for."

Roy looked away. He never would have guessed… Maes was always so cheerful and nice and…

"You know what I did?"

He looked back to Hughes.

"I made a visit to the local judge." Maes chuckled. "As many times as I'd been dragged into his court, well… we knew each other pretty well. I told him I wanted to change. I wanted something different, and I asked his advice. He said I should leave the city. Get away from everyone I knew. Join the army, because they'd pay for my education, and I'd also have a job."

Hughes grinned a lopsided grin. "So, that's what I did. And now, here I am."

There was silence between them for several minutes before Hughes said, "I still miss them, my sisters… I wish I knew what happened to them, but I suppose I'll never know. Maybe someday I'll find a good woman who will take pity on me and become my wife, and maybe then we'll have a little girl or two…"

"I don't see why not," Roy said, trying to add something that might be helpful.

"I can see several reasons why not," Maes said gloomily.

"Like what?"

Hughes raised an eyebrow. "Well, for one thing I'm twenty-three now. I mean, I'm getting _old_. Anyone my age that is worth marrying is probably already married. For another, I've never even dated a 'good girl'. I have no idea what I'd even _do_ with a 'good girl'. What kind of dates does one take those kinds of girls on anyway?"

Roy chuckled. "Well, _I_ wouldn't know, so you'll have to go somewhere else for advice on that one."

"No…I think I'll just be a bachelor for the rest of my life," Maes said in an exaggerated 'poor me' tone.

Roy shook his head, "No, I doubt it. You're a fun guy; you'll find someone."

"Well, at least I have that. Not everyone can be as good looking as you!"

The young recruit rolled his eyes.

"No, really, after we get out of this hellhole, I'm going to have to take you to a few places." Hughes grinned. "But that means you need to actually make it through this, okay?"

Roy sighed. How could he say 'no' after what Maes had told him?

"You know…I never had a younger brother…" Hughes said nonchalantly.

Roy smiled at what the older man was implying…offering… and thought it over. "I never had an older brother…never had a brother at all. I'm an only child."

"Well, that's great!" Maes said, in his normally cheerful tone. Standing up, Hughes held out his hand to help Roy up. When he was standing, instead of letting go of his hand, Hughes pulled him close and gave him a quick hug. "I need family; a _good_ family. I'm glad that I met you, Roy Mustang."

Roy smiled. "I'm glad that I met you too, Maes Hughes."

* * *

**Er… I wrote this for 'thoughtful' but I'm not sure if it really fits that prompt… Any thoughts on this? It definitely doesn't fit any of the other mood prompts that I have, that I haven't written anything for. Should I just label it 'no prompt' instead ? **


	7. Revenge

** -7-**

****

**The Mustang Chronicles **

**Prompt: Devious **

**Revenge **

"ATTENTION!"

Suddenly the light was flipped on in the barracks. All the recruits scrambled out of their beds and stood up straight. Roy blinked his eyes trying to wake up and focus on what was going on.

"One of you scumbags has been in my office!" Drill Sergeant Roham yelled. "Some personal belongins are missin and when I find the filthy cum-wad who did it, you can be sure his ass will be doin KP(1), and scrubbin floors and toilets with all'a his free time until his ass has graduated from boot camp!"

The man gazed around the room. "Now, get your shit down and open up those bags! I want to be able to see everything you've got!" For a moment there was stunned silence, then Roham yelled, "What the hell are you waiting for?"

Suddenly every man in the room was scrambling to get their bags open so that they could be inspected. After Roy finished opening his bag, he stood back to attention, but let his eyes shift over to Hughes as the drill sergeant began looking through his bags.

"What the hell is this?" Roham asked and pulled Maes' pictures out.

The older man cleared his throat and said, "They're uh… my ex-girlfriends."

The drill sergeant flipped through the first few before putting them back and said quietly with a grin, "You need to come by my office later and let me see those, right?"

Maes grinned back and nodded.

Roy wasn't worried when Roham searched through his bag. What the man was looking for wasn't in there, but he would find what he was looking for soon… When the sergeant moved on, Roy's eyes shifted to where his worst tormentors stood and fought the urge to grin. Instead he looked forward and waited.

After a few minutes he heard the drill sergeant yelling at first one, then the rest of the group before ordering them out of the barracks.

"Alright, ladies, go back to your beauty rest," Roham said to the remaining men and turned off the light as he headed out the door. As soon as the man was gone, the remaining recruits began murmuring among themselves.

Before Roy crawled back into bed, he turned and looked over to where Maes was staring intently at him. The teen raised an eyebrow as if to say, 'what?'

The twenty-three year old shook his head with a small smile and mouthed, 'You devious son of a bitch.'

At that, Roy grinned. He should have known that Maes would have known it was him.

* * *

1) Kitchen Patrol. Meaning helping out in the kitchen.


	8. Plans

**-8-**

**The Mustang Chronicles**

**Prompt: Optimistic**

**Plans**

"Ooooh Yeah! No more basic training!" Maes shouted loudly while holding a bottle of beer in his hand. Roy watched as the taller man took a swig and slammed the bottle down on the table.

Grinning, Roy took a sip from his and nodded his agreement. He could definitely say he was happy to see that part of his life done and over with. He'd felt a lot of pride, marching down the parade field during the ceremony that officially ended their basic training. He'd made it. Despite all the insults and teasing from Roham and the other recruits, despite the drill sergeant's admonitions that he wasn't military material, he'd made it.

"Come on, Roy! Drink up! This is a celebration!" Hughes proclaimed and took another long drink from his bottle.

His grin widened, but he continued to nurse his bottle with care. This was only the second time he'd drunk alcohol. The first time had been right before he'd left home; his friends had a going away party for him which had ended in him passing out and being sick with a terrible hangover the next morning.

His mother had _not_ been pleased.

"Say something, Roy! You're _way _too quiet for such a joyous occasion!"

Shrugging, Roy said, "Sorry. I guess I was just thinking about how we're on the right track. There are so many things we can do now. We have our whole careers ahead of us, our whole _life_. I just think that we can do a lot of good in this world…"

His voice trailed off when he saw Maes looking at him with an amused expression on his face. Suddenly the boisterous man jabbed a finger at him and said, "You are _way_ too thoughtful and optimistic today."

Roy grinned, "And you're not?"

At this, Maes laughed and said, "Well, yeah I suppose, but I'm just glad to be out of that shit-hole, and to have an honest job that pays well. Plus, I can wear my knife again." This was said with a flourish of his hand that produced a small, but wicked looking knife.

"I see how being in the military will help _me_," Maes continued. "But, I don't see how it is going to help the world."

Roy nodded, and quoted, "Be thou for the people…"

Instantly, Hughes frowned and said, "That's the State Alchemist's creed."

"That's right."

Maes' eyes narrowed. "You going to try to become a State Alchemist?"

"That's right," Roy repeated. "Just being a soldier isn't going to give me the opportunities I want to help people, but I think that being a State Alchemist could."

"Well, yeah but…" The other man took a sip from his bottle and continued in a serious tone. "You know, State Alchemists are also called living weapons…"

Roy nodded and said, "But it can't be much different than being a soldier. I mean, if a war really does break out then as soldiers we'll have to fight anyway. I'll have more authority if I'm a State Alchemist, so I don't see any reason to go through with it."

With a grim look on his face, Maes said, "I heard it's pretty tough to become a State Alchemist..." He paused for a moment, then said, "But I guess if anyone can do it, you can."

"Thanks," Roy said and took a drink from his bottle. Yes, he'd heard that it was difficult, but he was up for the challenge. He'd need to go back to his teacher and try again to convince the man to teach him flame alchemy. If he could master that, then he'd definitely have a good chance.

He grinned to himself and took another sip. Yes, he felt quite optimistic about what the future held for him.


	9. Teacher

**-9-**

**The Mustang Chronicles**

**Prompt: Nervous**

**Teacher**

Roy raised his hand to knock, then lowered it without touching the door. His teacher had said before that he'd never taught flame alchemy to anyone. The man said that it was a dangerous form of alchemy and difficult to control. Roy wiped his sweaty palms on his pants, again trying to work up the courage to knock. Somehow he needed to ask...

"Hi, Roy," a girl's voice said and he wiped around to see his teacher's daughter standing behind him. (1)

"Riza!" he hissed, feeling a little embarrassed at being surprised like that.

The thirteen-year-old girl blushed and giggled behind her hand. "You should have seen your face."

"Whatever..." Roy muttered. "Don't you have something to do, like... you know... _homework_ or something?"

The girl shook her head. "I got it all done. I'm not a slacker like you."

Roy glared. Maybe he slacked off sometime, but not _all_ the time. "Buzz off, Riza."

The girl opened her redish-brown eyes wide and gave him 'the look' that only young teenage girls could pull off. "This is my house; I can stay if I want."

"Is your dad here?" he asked in a business-like manner, trying to blow her off.

The girl made a sound of exasperation while rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "Didn't you _knock_? Jeez, you really are hopeless without me. Come on," she said and walked past him, waving him forward.

Opening the door, Riza moved aside to let Roy in, then closed the door. "You must have worked out a lot in basic training," she said and he turned around to look at her.

"Why do you say that?"

She shrugged and said, a small blush coloring her cheeks, "It just looks like it." She walked past him again and asked, "Was boot camp really hard?"

_Yes_, he thought. "Nope," he said.

She stopped walking and turned around. Looking him up and down, she said, "Where's your uniform?"

"At home. No need to wear it here."

"Oh. Too bad," she said, and started off again.

_Too bad?_ he thought. _What did she mean by that?_ He shrugged it off. Who knew what girls meant by anything.

He followed after her, watching her blond ponytail bounce up and down as she walked. When they got to her father's office, she knocked quietly on the door, then poked her head in. "Father?"

"Yes, Riza?" Roy heard from the room.

"Roy is here."

"Oh? Well, send him in." Roy frowned. He couldn't tell by the man's tone if he was glad to have him here or not.

Riza pulled her head out and whispered. "Tea or coffee?"

"Coffee," he said. She nodded and headed off toward the kitchen.

Letting himself into the room, Roy felt his heart begin to beat wildly in nervous apprehension. His teacher had no love for the military since Fuhrer Bradly came into power, and he had not been very pleased when Roy had announced that he was joining. His teacher also disliked State Alchemists...

"Well, there you are. It seems you were able to come back alive, that's good." Roy stared blandly at the older man who was obviously trying to make some sort of lame joke at his expense. "So, what do you want?" the man asked, then pointed to a couch. "Sit, sit, I don't like you towering over me like that."

Roy smirked. His teacher was sitting behind his desk with books and papers scattered everywhere. Sitting down, Roy said, "So, how have you been?"

The older alchemist scowled at him and said, "I'm still alive, aren't I? You obviously want to ask me something, but you're avoiding it. Just say it, I don't have time for word games."

Roy looked down at his shoes. He didn't relish the thought of asking, and the answer he might get could be a scathing one... literally. His head rose as the door creaked open and Riza crept in with a tray. He watched her set it down on the small coffee table in front of the couch and take one of the cups, filled with tea, and hand it to her father.

As the man took a sip, Roy blurted, "I want you to teach me flame alchemy." At that, the older Hawkeye choked on his tea and said, "I doubt you could handle it."

"I could, just give me a chance," Roy pleaded.

"And chance you burning down the whole countryside, I don't think so."

"The dunes aren't too far from here, I could practice there," Roy reasoned.

"You'd probably end up killing yourself. No."

"I can handle it. You said so yourself, that you think I'm talented with alchemy."

The older man shook his head. "This isn't the same. It takes _time_ to master flame alchemy. It's a wild science. It takes a strong will and a keen mind."

"And you're saying I don't have those?" Roy asked, feeling a little hurt.

Not answering the question, his teacher said, "And what would you do with it, if I taught you?"

Roy pressed his lips together and didn't say anything. His silence was enough, and the man said, "Let me guess, you would become a State Alchemist..." He shook his head. "Haven't you learned anything from what I've taught you? As a State Alchemist you would become a weapon to be used as the military saw fit. It's dishonorable."

"I wouldn't. I... I would help people, I..."

"Really? Would you? You say that now, but when push comes to shove, if you're ordered to use your alchemy to kill, would you?"

Roy looked down at the coffee Riza had brought. He was a soldier now, and he supposed that if he was told to kill he would have to do that without alchemy. But with alchemy, especially flame alchemy, he had the potential to harm so many more people. He also had the potential to help that many more people...

"You're too kind, Roy," the older man said gently. "I can see you've matured over these last few months, both physically and emotionally, but..."

"I still want you to teach me..." Roy quietly interrupted, looking up into the other man's eyes.

They stared at each other for a moment, when suddenly the silence was broken; not by either of them, but by Riza. "Father... I think Roy can do it if you give him a chance..."

"Riza..."

"I believe in him. I believe he can make a difference. Please? Please, daddy..." She glanced at Roy, her cheeks dark red, then back to her father. Roy had only ever heard her call him 'daddy' once before, and that was when she'd found a stray dog and had begged to keep it. It seemed she knew he was weak to that, because, sure enough, he'd let her keep the dog.

Unfortunately, the animal had been killed in an accident shortly before Roy had left to basic training. He remembered how much she had cried. Her father had offered to get her a new one, the man hated seeing his only child upset, especially when she rarely made a big show of her emotions, but she had declined saying that she never wanted to own another dog again.

Roy supposed he could understand, it hurt to have something you loved so dearly taken away from you...

After several moments, the man sighed and shook his head. "Alright, Riza... I'll _think_ about it."

She grinned. "Thank you!" He waved his hand at her and she scampered out of the room. Roy tried to hide a grin. He would have to find a way to thank her later.

* * *

1 – I'm going to refer to the manga with this. It seems to me that Riza is quite a bit younger than Roy is in the manga. Roy seems to be older than Riza by a number of years in the manga, though how many, I have no idea. I'm going to give them a five year difference in this story. I'm also not going _exactly _from the manga; I'm simply going to refer to it since the anime never mentions Riza being Roy's teacher's daughter.


	10. Training

** -10-**

**The Mustang Chronicles **

**Prompt: Bouncy **

**Training **

Roy ran a hand through his dusty hair and looked around at the small sticks his teacher had stuck into the sand far away from them before turning back to where the older man knelt behind him. With a grin, Roy waited for the man to finish going through the bags they'd brought.

The eighteen-year-old was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. For the last month he'd done nothing in his free time other than study the texts the man had given him. Every weekend, he made the long drive back to his home town from Central to visit his teacher and get more instruction, and ultimately more texts.

Roy's mother had been happy to see him more often, and Roy, in turn, was happy to see her cooking. After he got out of basic training, he realized that he really couldn't cook worth shit, and he thought that he'd waste away if he had to live on the food the military served. His mother seemed to have the same thoughts and often sent him back to Central with a box of baked goods. They never lasted long since Maes generally ate more than half of what he returned with.

Roy rocked back on the balls of his feet, then forward. He was much too antsy to hold still. He thought that if it didn't look too undignified, he'd probably be hoping around in excitement.

His teacher, kneeling on the ground over the bag, looked up and growled, "Will you stop _bouncing _around?"

"I'm not _bouncing_," Roy protested.

The older man raised an eyebrow and lifted a gloved hand in a snapping gesture. Quickly Roy raised his hands and hastily said, "Okay, I was bouncing."

Grumbling to himself, the older alchemist got to his feet and waved Roy forward. "Now, you've seen these gloves before. You know what they can do." At that, he snapped and lit a fire at the end of one of the sticks.

Roy nodded. Looked easy enough.

"You've read, in record time I must add, the texts I gave to you and you should know the mechanics of how this science works. Actually _doing_ it is another thing." The man glanced at Roy and scowled. "With flame alchemy, you need control. You must _guide_ the flows. You need to be able to be keen enough to notice if there is a small air current, as well as the direction it's flowing. Even the smallest breeze can make you miss your target if you aren't aware and make the necessary adjustments."

Roy nodded and again rolled back on his feet. He got it already! He just wanted to try! His teacher seemed to understand what was going through his head because he sighed and slipped off the gloves and held them together. For a moment he stared at Roy then his scowl deepened before smacking Roy on the head with the gloves.

"Stop moving! What are you? Five?"

Blushing, Roy stilled his movements with an effort. His fingers itched to try out all the things he'd read about.

The older man pressed his lips together and handed the gloves over reluctantly. Snatching them, Roy hurriedly slipped them on and, with a grin, stepped forward and held his hand up, ready to snap.

"Now, I want you to think before..." his teacher began, but it was too late. With one hard snap of his thumb and middle finger, all the sticks burst into flame. Grinning, Roy watched the stumps burn. Suddenly he was smacked upside his head. "Idiot boy! You don't listen to a thing I tell you, do you?"

Grabbing his head, Roy turned around and whined, "What was that for?"

"I said _control_! That was not control, that was a wild attempt. You're lucky there was nothing else around that was flammable!" The man pointed to the area where the sticks were now almost a charred ruin. "Do you see the black around the stumps? That is the sand. If that had been weeds or dry grass we would be dead. Control is _paramount_." The man paused, then held out his hand. "The gloves. Now."

Frowning, and feeling a little disappointed, Roy slipped the gloves off and handed them over. When he did, his teacher hit him with them again before turning around and walking back where they left the car.

"What was that for?" Roy asked, picking up the bags and following after him.

"Because you're an idiot. Now, let's go."


	11. Air

** -11-**

**The Mustang Chronicles**

**Prompt: Annoyed **

**Air**

Roy sat on the grass in front of his parent's house and concentrated with his eyes closed. He was supposed to be able to feel each small change in the air currents, but the air was relatively still today which made the task quite hard. He supposed that was the point, but still...

The sound of small tires crunching over rocks and dirt met his ears but he tried to ignore it and continue what he was doing. The sound stopped and a moment later something crashed to the ground and footsteps started toward him until whoever it was started walking on the grass.

The person stopped beside him, and, try as he might, Roy just couldn't seem to ignore the fact that someone was standing beside him.

"Rooooooy..." came a whisper in his ear.

Roy groaned inwardly. "What..." he said, annoyance filling his voice.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to concentrate on the air currents," he responded.

There was silence for a moment before he felt a sudden rush of air blowing at him. Irritably, Roy opened his eyes and glared at Riza who was blowing at him. When she saw that she had his attention, she grinned and said, "Father wants you."

Letting out a sound of exasperation, Roy stood up and looked down at her. "Why didn't you just say that in the first place?"

She shrugged and started walking back toward her bike. "I thought you might be asleep. Here I was, trying to be nice and wake you up slowly..."

"It's the middle of the afternoon," he said. "Of course I'm not sleeping."

The girl got on her bike, looked at him then rolled her eyes. "Of _course_ you weren't sleeping in the middle of the afternoon. You would never do that. You might _nap,_ but not _sleep_."

He pressed his lips together, trying to think of what to say. It was true, he did nap often... "Well... That's different..." he said defensively as he started walking toward the road.

She shook her head again and started peddling. As she rode past him, she yelled, "Sure it is! You keep telling yourself that!"

He glared at her back as her laugher hit his ears. "It _is_ different!" he yelled at her and quickened his step trying not to think of the fact that she had gotten the better of him again.


	12. Brothel

**-12-**

**The Mustang Chronicles**

**Prompt: Uncomfortable**

**Brothel**

"So how's the training going?"

Roy looked up from the book he was studying to see Maes leaning against a wall, arms folded and a smirk on his face. The man was dressed in a bright green button-up shirt and brown slacks. Roy sighed and rolled over from where he was laying on his stomach to a sitting position on the bed.

"It's going," he answered. It was going like a bad train wreck, but Maes didn't need to know that. In the last two months, Roy had gotten the opportunity to practice flame alchemy every weekend, and each weekend he ended up doing something wrong. Even though he knew he was improving, Roy knew he had a way to go.

"Good," Maes said, snatching the book from the bed and flopping it onto a stack of texts that was in the corner.

"Hey!"

"Hey nothing," the older man said with a grin. "All you do is study. Every night it's study, study, study, and then every weekend you go home to study more. You need to take tonight off."

Roy frowned. "I do?"

"Yes. Remember in basic I told you I'd take you some places?" Roy nodded. "Well, tonight I'm taking you to one of those, so get dressed."

"I am dressed," Roy said, looking down at his military pants and plucking at the brown, military issue undershirt.

Maes rolled his eyes before walking over to Roy's small closet. Opening it, he pulled out a nice white button-up shirt and a pair of black slacks, then tossed them to Roy. Frowning at the dress clothes, Roy pulled up the white shirt and said, "This is for my dress uniform."

"So what? Wear it," Maes said, and glanced in the closet. "You don't have any other nice shirts in there."

Grumbling, Roy pulled his brown undershirt off. "Where are we going that I need to dress up?"

"You'll see," Maes said with a grin.

* * *

"No way!" Roy exclaimed and turned around, but stopped when Maes grabbed his arm.

"Come on, Roy. It will be fun!"

"Fun?" Roy exclaimed, his voice cracking a little. Turning, he waved an arm at the building. "It's a _brothel_!"

"The best money can buy," Maes said with a grin. "Come on!"

"No!" Roy pulled out of Maes' grip and folded his arms stubbornly. "It's... I... No way!" He felt his face burn and he turned away to hide the blush.

There was quiet from behind him for several moments before Maes said, "Come on, Roy. It's not that big of a deal. We all have to lose our virginity someday."

At that, Roy's eyes widened and he whipped around. "I'm not a virgin," he lied. He'd seen some of the unmerciful teasing other soldiers had directed towards anyone who dared let it slip that they were virgins.

Maes smirked. "I won't tell anyone."

"I'm _not_," he lied again.

"Right... Then why do you blush so much whenever I show you my pictures?" Roy simply stared at his friend in silence. What could he say? He didn't realize that he blushed a lot when he looked at Maes' photos...

"I just don't want to..." he said quietly. It wasn't that he didn't want to see naked girls, because he did, but... but... As stupid as it sounded, Roy's first thought was 'what if my mother found out'. Of course she wouldn't, and neither would his father, but... "I guess I just want it to be with someone special..." he finally said.

Maes sighed, and Roy glanced over to see the older man folding his arms and looking at him thoughtfully. "The first time is never really all that special anyway, Roy. There's lots of fumbling and trying to figure things out; especially if neither of you have experience. It's a lot better to get some experience _before_ you're with someone special. That way you can do it right and make them feel good too."

Roy stared at him, trying to digest all that his friend had said. It made sense, but... "I don't know..." He glanced at the building and pressed his lips together. "I'm not sure I'm interested in this sort of thing..."

"This sort of thing?" Maes said. "You're saying you're not into a building full of hot chicks...?" He paused, then said quietly, "Are you... you know..."

Roy looked at him in confusion. "Am I what?"

"You know... do you play for the other team?"

"Other team? What are you talking about?"

Maes rolled his eyes and whispered, "Gay... You know, into guys..."

"What!" Roy exclaimed. "No! What makes you ask a question like that?" He made a sound of exasperation and turned around. "I'm leaving."

Laughing, Maes grabbed his arm and said, "I was just kidding. Come on. Just come inside. You don't have to fuck anyone if you don't feel okay with it. They have a small bar in there, let's just get a drink, flirt with the girls and go home, okay?"

"Well... okay..." Roy agreed reluctantly.

As they made their way inside, they were greeted by enthusiastic calls from many scantily clad girls. Correction. _Maes_ was greeted by many enthusiastic girls, who apparently knew him from his many visits there. His so-called friend then decided it would be 'good' for Roy to have some alone time with the women in the pub part of the brothel while he wandered off.

Feeling rather ill at ease, Roy sat in humiliated silence while several almost naked girls tried their hardest to see who could make him blush the deepest. He stared uncomfortably down into his drink wondering when this night from hell would end.


	13. Grudge

** -13-**

**The Mustang Chronicles**

**Prompt: Moody**

**Grudge**

Roy looked up when he heard a soft knocking on his door. It was probably Maes... Scowling, Roy turned his attention back to the text he was reading. Again there was a knock on his door, and once again Roy ignored it. After a couple of minutes, the door opened and Maes let himself in.

"Sure, just come on in," Roy said sarcastically. "Make yourself right at home."

"Don't mind if I do," Maes said lightly and shut the door. Roy shook his head and stared fixedly down at the material he was studying. "Oh hey! Your mom made more of those sticky buns..." he heard Maes say. Glancing up, Roy saw the man help himself to the package he'd brought back over the weekend.

Muttering under his breath Roy scratched the array from his teacher's gloves on one of the papers, thinking that if he had those gloves with him...

After a minute, Roy heard Maes sigh. "You aren't still mad at me are you?" Roy glanced up and gave the older man a dirty glare. Maes shook his head. "Come on, Roy. That was almost a month ago! I can't believe you're still holding a grudge over that."

Roy looked down and stared hard at his paper. He supposed it was a stupid, childish thing to still be upset about, but he couldn't help it. Though he could have just left the whore house on his own instead of waiting almost two hours for Maes to have his fun, Roy had waited because it just didn't seem polite to just take off, even though that's essentially what Maes had done.

For the last month, Roy had been trying to get an apology out of the man, but so far Maes had only denied he'd done anything wrong, and refused to say otherwise.

Shutting the book, Roy moodily tossed it in the corner, got up, and walked over to Maes, who was helping himself to yet another sticky bun. Snatching the bun from the older man's hand, Roy set it back in the box.

The two stared at each other in silence for several moments before Maes reached over for the box again. At that, Roy pushed his hand away and glared. There was more silence, and finally after a minute Maes muttered ungraciously, "Fucking brat... I'm _sorry,_ okay?" When Roy simply continued to stare silently in his direction, Maes sighed and said in a nicer tone, "I'm sorry, Roy."

Roy could tell Maes wanted to say more, but the man held his tongue. Probably for the best. The apology at least _sounded_ sincere, even if it wasn't. There was more silence, then Maes mumbled, "Can I have that bun now?"


	14. Gloves

**-14-**

**The Mustang Chronicles**

**Prompt: Excited**

**Gloves**

"Roy! Come help me set the table!"

Roy looked up from where he was pacing in the living room and hurried over to the dining room.

"But, ma..." he started to protest, but the words died on his lips when she pointed a long, wooden spoon in his direction.

"You've been running around all weekend talking about how that Hawkeye was going to give you something and how you're all excited, and here I am, offering to cook dinner for all of you, and you won't even help..."

"Okay!" Roy said, cutting her off. He hurried to the cupboards and pulled out the plates.

"And don't you break any of those! We don't have time for you to go about fixing them!"

Roy rolled his eyes as he hurried to the table. He had plenty of time to fix them if he dropped one, which he _wouldn't_. What did she think he was? Eight-years-old?

A sound at the front door caused Roy to start in excitement. Where they here already? He was about to head out there, when he heard his mother say in a warning voice, "Roy..."

If he wasn't so excited about what he knew was coming, he would have been frustrated. Instead, he continued to set the table as he listened to the door open and his father saying something about the recent weather they'd been having. His heart skipped a beat when he heard his teacher replying. He was here!

"Hi, Mrs. Mustang," Roy heard behind him.

His mother turned and smiled. "Hello, Riza dear."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" the girl asked politely.

"That is so sweet!" Roy's mother gushed. "No, honey, I think we've got it covered, but thank-you for asking."

There was a moment of silence before she moved into his line of sight and leaned on the table. A look of concern was painted on her face.

"What?" Roy asked, setting the last fork down.

"Are you sick?" she asked.

He stopped and said, "No... Why?" It wasn't like her to be so concerned.

A mischievous grin broke out on her face and she said, "Because, you're actually doing something!" He opened his mouth to tell her just what he though of that when his father and his teacher walked into the room.

"Mr. Hawkeye, welcome!" Roy's mother said graciously. "Why don't you have a seat?"

The man nodded to her before sitting down. As he sat, Roy's teacher placed a small, thin box on the table beside his plate, and looked pointedly at Roy for a moment before directing his conversation back to Roy's father.

His excitement bubbled more fiercely inside of him, and he was barely able to keep it contained. After helping his mother bring the food to the table, Roy sat down, trying to keep calm and not act like an idiot.

* * *

"That was simply fabulous, Mrs. Mustang," Roy's teacher complimented. His mother grinned and took the complement graciously. Moving his gaze to Roy, Mr. Hawkeye said dryly, "I think we'd better get to the main reason I'm here tonight before your son has a hernia." Roy scowled at that as everyone else laughed. He'd thought he'd done a good job being calm...

His teacher picked up the box and fingered it lightly before going on. "Over this last year, I've been very impressed with how quickly your son's alchemy abilities have grown," he said, still addressing Roy's parents. "Not only his general knowledge, but also the more specialized skills of flame alchemy."

Roy suddenly realized he was beaming from the compliments and worked to smooth out his features.

"There were some... incidents... during this last year that made me wonder if this was the right path for him..." Mr. Hawkeye said with a slight glare in Roy's direction.

Roy felt blood rush to his cheeks. Before he'd learned to target things more precisely, Roy had a bad habit of missing his target and setting... other... things on fire... It had given him quite the reputation in town. He still wasn't as precise as he would be in time, but he hit things accurately about ninety percent of the time now, and he was rather proud of that.

"I think that he has reached a point where he simply must tune his skills properly. With that in mind..." He glanced at Roy, then held out the box. "I'm giving these to you in good faith that you will use them in a responsible manner."

Roy reached out and eagerly took the box. His hands shook in excitement as he opened it and saw what he knew would be in there. Two white gloves with a red array on each sat in the small box. He pulled them out and stared almost reverently at them. There was silence around the room for a moment, before his mother looked to his father and said seriously, "We have fire insurance, right?"


	15. Birds of a Feather

**-15-**

**The Mustang Chronicles**

**Prompt: Cranky**

**Birds of a Feather**

**-  
**Roy sighed wearily as the train stopped. He was tired, hungry, and simply wanted to relax. The last week had been insanely busy as he prepared to take the next week off and spend it relaxing at home. As he'd prepared to leave, Roy had noticed that Maes had seemed a little melancholy. When asked about it, the man had simply said that it must be nice to have a home to go back to.

Without thinking, Roy had quipped up and invited the man to come with him for the week. It had immediately cheered his friend up, yet Roy instantly wondered if it would be a good idea or not. He'd called home before leaving, and again at the train station, but no one had answered either time. He just hoped his parents wouldn't mind...

As the conductor shouted for everyone to unload, Roy stood up, stretched, and pulled his bag down from the overhead compartment before heading to the exit with Maes on his heels. Once outside of the train, Roy enjoyed only a moment of silence from the other man before he heard, "Holy. Fuck."

Roy turned around and stared blandly at the older man. Maes was looking around with a semi-shocked expression on his face.

"What?" Roy muttered irritably. He was tired and cranky, and he wasn't sure he was in the mood to listen to Maes' nattering.

"There's nothing here!" the man exclaimed. To this Roy only scowled. This part of the town just happened to be the most populated part in the area. "Where's all the chics!?" Maes exclaimed.

Roy was about to open his mouth when a few sheep, driven by a young boy came near them. The boy walked up to them and said, "Are you looking for chicks, sir? We have a whole flock of them at our place. My da's been looking for someone who'd take some of them off his hands."

Maes glanced at Roy and gave him a blank stare before saying seriously, "No wonder you're still a virgin."


	16. On the Road

**-16-**

**The Mustang Chronicles**

**No Prompt**

**On the Road**

**-  
**"So how much farther is it until we get to your place?"

Roy glanced back at Maes and said, "Another half mile." He paused, then said with a grin, "You're not worn out already, are you?"

Maes scowled, then said casually, "Hardly. I just want to get out of this uniform. I can't believe we had to report in like that right before our train left."

Roy nodded. The military uniform wasn't the most comfortable thing for traveling, and he hadn't been too thrilled about needing to suit up right before leaving. He was rather ready to change too. He didn't like coming home in uniform. He preferred leaving his military life in Central.

The sound of a bicycle sounded behind them, and when he stepped to the side of the road, Roy glanced back to see who it was. When he recognized the girl on the bike, he sighed heavily.

"Hi, Roy!" Riza said as she came close.

He gave her a half-hearted smile and said, "Hi, Riza."

She stopped the bike, and stared at him for a long time, making him feel slightly uncomfortable. Finally she said with a slight blush on her cheeks, "Wow... I've never seen you in your uniform before..." He frowned, wondering if she was making fun of him some how. She glanced at Maes and said, "Who are you?"

Grinning broadly, Maes stepped forward and stuck out his hand. "Sergeant Maes Hughes at your service!" he announced. Riza giggled a little at his bold introduction and shook his hand. Maes glanced at Roy and said, "Roy, introduce me to this beautiful, young goddess!"

Roy glanced at Riza who had turned a deep red, then said, "She's only a goddess compared to the sheep."

To this, Riza's eyes widened, then she glared darkly at Roy before saying to Maes, "I'm Riza Hawkeye—and I know lots of embarrassing stories about Roy."

Roy rolled his eyes and made a sound of exasperation, but Maes only laughed and said, "I know a few myself!" To that, Roy jerked and glowered evilly at his friend.

The fourteen-year-old girl nodded with a smug look on her face before saying, "I think we're going to get along just fine."


	17. Girls and Guns

** -17-**

**The Mustang Chronicles**

**No Prompt**

**Girls and Guns**

"Go home," Roy muttered irritably as Riza continued to follow them. She walked beside Maes, but she was constantly throwing glances in his direction with a small smile on her face. She was laughing at him! He knew it! He was going to change out of this damn uniform as soon as he got home.

Looking up at Maes, Riza said, "Is it okay if I walk with you?"

To this, Maes grinned and nodded. "Of course. I love being seen with beautiful women." The fourteen-year-old girl smiled broadly and gave Roy a smug look. Making a sound of irritation, Roy rolled his eyes and shook his head. Girls...

"Doesn't it bother you to carry a gun with you all the time?" she asked Maes.

"Not at all," he said, still grinning. "But, I prefer to use my knife when possible." He paused, then said, "Wanna see?"

"Sure!" she said.

"I don't know that your father would approve," Roy muttered.

She shot him a dirty glare. "He won't know as long as no one tells him." When Roy raised an eyebrow, she said, "Don't you dare! Who was it that convinced father to teach you?"

Roy snorted and looked away. She had a point. He felt a sudden twing of guilt as he realized that he'd never paid her back for her help. He'd meant to, but he'd just forgotten...

"Wow! It's huge!" he heard Riza exclaim.

Roy glanced to Maes and saw his grin widen. "The ladies tell me that all the time," Maes bragged as he adjusted his grip on the knife. Roy tried to hide his smile at the sexual twist to the words. Over a year in the military and being friends with Maes had made him less naïve than he used to be. Luckly, Riza hadn't caught on and simply gave him a questioning look before turning back to Maes.

"Can I touch it?" she asked, and Roy snorted out a laugh.

"Of _course_ you can touch it," Maes drawled, then let out a laugh of his own when Roy elbowed him. Riza's forehead crinkled in confusion but they stopped walking long enough for her to hold the knife and inspect it.

"Can I see your gun too?" Riza asked while handing the knife back. Maes pulled out the gun and handed it over with a warning for her to be careful because it was loaded. The girl held the large gun awkwardly in her hands, studying the design of the piece.

Handing it back, Riza smiled and said, "Thanks! That was really cool!"

"No problem," Maes responded while putting it away.

With a heavy sigh, Riza said, "I have to go make dinner for father..."

"What a shame," Roy muttered.

"I know. You'll miss me," the girl returned.

To that, Roy shook his head and said, "No, I meant for your da. He's much too young to die."

The girl stared at him for a moment blinking, then said hotly, "I can cook!"

Roy nodded, "Yes, you can. You can cook it until it's charred and burnt."

Riza huffed and puffed, and Roy smirked, knowing that victory was his. Finally she hopped on her bike and glared at him, though her gaze stayed on him for a long moment as she seemed to take him in. She looked as if she was about to say something, but instead gave him one last glare before riding off.

Turning around to start back toward his house, Roy smiled victoriously at Maes who only laughed and said, "She has got the _hots_ for you."

Roy stopped and gave Maes a surprised look before starting forward again. "No, she doesn't."

"She does!" Maes crowed, then slapped Roy on the back. "Didn't you see how she was checking you out?"

"That wasn't checking me out, it was her trying to come up with a smart ass comment about my uniform," Roy threw back.

The older man shook his head. "Roy, Roy, Roy... Chicks _dig_ guys in uniform. What did I tell you before! It was so cute too, the way she was blushing!"

Roy rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Even if she _was_ interested in me, she's fourteen, _and_ she's like a little sister to me."

Maes gave him a flat stare. "You're only nineteen, Roy. That's only a five year difference. Give it ten years and trust me, her age won't matter."

Roy glanced back the way Riza had ridden off. Did she have a crush on him? No, that was absurd. Besides, even if he was interested in Riza like that, which he _wasn't_, Roy had a feeling his teacher would fry him to a crisp if he tried anything.


	18. Mother

**-18-**

**The Mustang Chronicles**

**No Prompt**

**Mother**

Roy opened the door and looked around. "Hello?" he called. "Ma? Da?" There was a snort from behind him and he turned to stare at Maes, who had an amused look on his face. "What?" he growled irritably.

"Oh, nothing, just..." Maes paused, then said, his voice laced with laughter, "I just love that 'ma' 'da' thing. It so—country."

Roy glared. He'd had it with Maes' teasing. "Fuck you," he growled.

Suddenly, Maes' eyes moved to look past him into the house. Roy cringed and slowly turned around to see his mother standing there with folded arms and a scowl on her face.

"Ma..." Roy half whined. Her scowl deepened and he tried to think of a way to get himself out of this. "Um..."

"Is that how you talk when I'm not around? Is this what the military is teaching my son? You left home so that you could learn how to talk like a heathen? What other things has the military been teaching you?"

Roy groaned mentally as his mother continued on with her rant. She'd never been too fond of his decision to leave home and join the military. 'The military would corrupt him,' she would say, and he would counter back that he thought he could do some good if he joined. She thought he was too idealistic, and he thought she was too over protective. Her disapproval of him being a soldier was one of the main reasons he tried to keep his military life in Central.

Finally she stopped her tirade and looked at Maes. "And who are you?"

Maes stepped forward, giving her a small bow and said, "My name is Maes Hughes. I attended basic training with your son. As one of the older and more knowledgeable men in our unit, I felt that it was my responsibility to take your son under my wing."

Roy rolled his eyes at the man's obvious attempt to get on his mother's good side. His mother eyed Maes skeptically, but held out her hand and introduced herself. Instead of shaking her hand like she'd expected, Maes gently took her hand in his and placed a soft kiss on it.

"Roy never told me he had such a beautiful woman as a mother. He often mentioned how you ingrained honest values in him, but..." Maes shook his head as if he couldn't find the words to go on. Roy almost snorted. Probably he couldn't. There was only so much bull crap a person would come up with on the spot.

His mother smirked, obviously amused, and said, "Okay, you can stay."

Maes grinned, realizing the woman had seen through his words, and said, "Thanks, Mrs. Mustang."

She turned to Roy and scowled again, "But I don't want to hear any more of them devil words out of you." Roy nodded unhappily. "Go change your clothes and wash up, I need some help in the kitchen." She turned to Maes and said, "You too! More mouths to feed mean more help needed in the kitchen. I know how boys your age eat."

"Actually I'm twenty-fou..." Maes began, but was cut off by a flat stare.

"Twenty-four is still a boy," Roy's mother said. "Now off with the two of you. More boys in the house also means more trouble!" She said this as she turned around and headed off toward the kitchen.

Maes watched her go, then turned to Roy and said, "Wow, you're old lady's a real piece of work. She seems to be the type that keeps pretty busy; probably not a lazy bone in her body." When Roy nodded, Maes looked him up and down and said, "Makes me wonder what happened to you."


	19. Showoff

**-19-**

**The Mustang Chronicles**

**Prompt: Mischievous **

**Showoff**

"Shhhh!" Roy hushed as he and Maes snuck out of his parent's house.

"You're not really going to do this are you?" Maes asked with a grin.

Of course Roy was going to do this. He wanted a chance to show off the flame alchemy he'd been learning. The nineteen-year-old grinned mischievously and nodded, then beckoned his friend forward. They ran across the dirt until they could see the outline of the broken down, rusted vehicle that was no longer usable, but still cluttered that part of the Mustang land.

"Okay," he whispered. "You see that thing hanging from the rearview mirror?"

"Uh…"

Roy pointed. "There, see it?" The decorative item was barely visible by the light of the moon. He saw Hughes nod in the darkness. "I'm going to set that on fire."

"You'll probably miss," Hughes taunted good naturedly.

Roy pulled on one of his gloves and said, "You just watch. I won't miss."

His parents had forbidden him to use the flame alchemy while he stayed with them. He was too reckless, they said. Well, this wasn't any big deal, just a little tiny flame. They were asleep and they'd never know.

Concentrating on the decorative thing hanging from the rearview mirror, Roy reached out and snapped his fingers. All of a sudden the car exploded. Pieces of the rusted vehicle flew up with such force that both the young soldiers ducked and put their hands over their heads.

They stared at each other with wide eyes before Roy grinned and said, "See, told you I wouldn't miss."

"That didn't count. You were only supposed to hit that one little thing, not blow the whole…" Hughes was saying, but stopped when they heard a shout.

"_Roy Mustang_! You are in SO much trouble! Get your behind back to this house right _now_!"

Maes snickered and said, "Looks like your old lady's awake."

Sheepishly, Roy stood up and began slinking toward the house with Hughes following behind him.


	20. Apology

**- 20 -**

**The Mustang Chronicles**

**No Prompt**

**Apology **

Roy yawned and rolled over in his bed before opening his eyes and staring dolefully at the man on the cot across the room. Maes Hughes had the loudest snore he'd ever heard. Scowling, Roy sat up and stretched, trying to decide what he should do now since he obviously wasn't going to get anymore sleep.

It was pretty early, though he was sure his father had been up for hours, and the smells coming from the kitchen let him know that his mother was also awake. Standing up, Roy scrubbed his hand through his hair, then padded out to the kitchen.

As he slipped into the kitchen, his stomach growled to tell him that it was hungry. Roy glanced at the thick slices of bacon, scrambled eggs and crusty pieces of bread that sat on the counter. His mother had her back to him as she tended to the potatoes frying on the stove.

Licking his lips, Roy crept forward and reached out to take a piece of bacon when his mother said, "Roy..."

His shoulders fell, and he mumbled, "Morning, ma..."

"You weren't about to take a piece of that bacon were you?"

He scowled. How did she know? She always seemed to know, even when she wasn't looking at him.

"No..." he lied miserably. Turning around, his mother eyed him, then raised an eyebrow. He frowned. She _always _knew... "I was going to take more than a piece," he said, trying to cover his lie.

His mother simply shook her head and turned back to the stove. He sighed. Well at least she wasn't going to bring up what happened last night... The last thing he wanted to hear was her nagging at him.

The door opened, and Roy turned to see his father walk in carrying a metal container. "Here's the milk for breakfast," he said as he set the container on the counter. Roy's mother turned and smiled before giving the potatoes her attention again.

His father folded his arms and stared at him for a moment before saying gravely, "Son...we need to talk." Roy cringed. Getting a talkin' from his father was always worse than getting it from his mother. He was able to tune his mother out to some degree, but never his father.

He followed his father outside and sat down on one of the wooden rocking chairs on the porch. They sat there for a while without saying anything until his father said, "I'm very disappointed in you, son." Roy glanced away, not able to meet his father's eyes. "You were asked specifically _not_ to use flame alchemy here, and you did so anyway."

Yes, it was always much worse when it was his father who was upset with him... His mother would natter on about it, but his father was so serious, as if he took Roy's misbehavior as a personal affront on himself. Probably he did. That was just the way his father was.

"I'm sorry..." Roy murmured feeling extremely guilty.

He heard his father sigh, then, "Son, you're young, I understand. I used to be young once too, but you're a man now and you need to start acting like one. I can tell that you've matured some, being in the military, but you're still reckless at times. You don't think before you act."

Roy frowned and looked up. "Yes, I do."

His father raised an eyebrow and asked, "Really? What were you thinking last night then?"

He opened his mouth, then shut it again. "Okay, you have a point. I'll try to think before acting," Roy muttered, knowing that his father was looking for an affirmation that he would make an effort to not let it happen again.

His father nodded, then a grin spread across his face. "That was a pretty large fireball last night."

Roy grinned back, glad that his father was done with the lecture. "Yeah it was cool, huh."

His father nodded, his grin growing wider, "Yes, but..." He leaned in close and whispered, "Don't tell your mother I said so!"

Roy's grin grew. He knew there was a reason he loved his father.


	21. Target Practice

**- 21 -**

**The Mustang Chronicles**

**No Prompt**

**Target Practice**

"Damn, that was a good breakfast!" Maes exclaimed.

Roy rolled his eyes and continued to clean his gun. The man had been proclaiming the excellence of his mother's cooking for the last hour. He could see doing it when she was around, but what was the point now?

Roy looked over to where Maes had his gun taken apart as well and frowned. He would prefer to not be doing this here either. Normally, Roy did everything he needed to _before_ he came home, but there hadn't been time before they'd left.

He turned his attention back to his gun and after a moment he felt a nudge on his arm. Looking up, Roy growled, "What?" To this, Maes grinned and nodded to the other side of Roy. Turning his head, Roy looked to see what had caught the man's attention.

"Hi, Roy!" Riza said, as she dumped her bike near the fence and trotted over to where they were sitting on the porch.

"Riza," he said in greeting before turning his attention back to his gun.

He heard her lean against the wooden railing surrounding the porch, then, "You know, the funniest thing happened last night."

Roy sighed, and tried to ignore her, but Maes said, "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, I woke up and looked out my window and saw fire down this way. I mean, it must have been pretty big if I could see it from my window."

"You don't say." Roy could hear the laughter in Maes's voice now. "So you thought you'd come down here and tell us about it?"

"No. I already know it was Roy's fault," she said simply. "He was probably trying to show off or something." Roy scowled down at the pieces of his gun. What a brat!

"You seem to know him pretty well!" Maes chortled. To this, Roy looked over at Maes and shot him a dirty glare before glancing over to the blonde fourteen-year-old.

"Of course. I know _everything_ about him," she bragged.

"Oh really?" Maes snickered before saying, "Do you know if he wears boxers or briefs?"

To this, Roy's eyes widened. Riza's hands flew to her mouth and he could here her giggling behind them. Turning, Roy hissed, "Maes!"

With a grin, Maes said, "I think we should go shooting." Roy glared at him, but at least the subject had been changed.

"Can I come?" Riza asked.

Roy turned, about to say 'no' when Maes said, "Of course!"

"I don't think your father would approve," Roy said, not exactly happy to have her come along.

She shrugged. "He won't know unless someone tells him." Roy raised an eyebrow at that, and she glared at him. "You better not say no. Who was it that convinced him to..."

"Okay, fine," he said, cutting her off. This was as good of a time as any to pay her back for what she'd done for him anyway. Then he wouldn't feel like he had a debt to her that hadn't been paid.

"Oh, you know... I _just_ forgot," Maes said with a frown Roy knew was fake. The man looked apologetically to Riza and said, "I told the old lady here I'd help her with a few things. Maybe just you and Roy should go this time."

"What!" Roy growled. The lie was so obvious too! "You can't get out of it! You're the one who suggested it!"

Maes gave a helpless shrug and looked at Riza. "You don't mind, do you?"

Roy looked over at her and noticed that she actually seemed a little pleased. Shaking her head, Riza said, "He's pretty hard to deal with, but I'll manage."

Roy looked from one to another with a feeling that he'd somehow been tricked into this, though he wasn't sure by whom...

* * *

"It's not fair," Riza complained unhappily.

"No," Roy said again.

"But he said that I could use it!" She did not sound happy, but there was no way he was giving in.

"That's right; he said you could use it. He didn't say you could carry it there."

"But..."

Roy stopped walking and looked at her. "Look, Riza... A gun is a dangerous thing. You haven't had any training with it. The best thing is for me to carry it there."

"Oh and letting _you _carry it would be safer?" she taunted.

He started walking again and growled, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that if you're so _responsible_ then why did you think you had to prove yourself?" she asked.

Roy made a sound of irritation. Not her too... "What's the matter, Riza? Jealous that I can burn more things with my alchemy than you can with your cooking?" he asked, knowing it would irk her.

"Roy Mustang! You take that back! I'm a good cook and you know it!"

Turning off the road into the junkyard, Roy smirked; pleased that he'd changed the subject so smoothly. Pointing around, he told her to find all the whole bottles she could for targets. It took about fifteen minutes to round up the amount of bottles they wanted and to find a good place to line them up at.

Standing a good ways off, Roy carefully handed her Maes's gun. She held it awkwardly, and he frowned. That wouldn't do at all. One shot like that would probably knock her off her feet. Walking behind her, Roy wrapped his arms around her and held his hands over hers.

"Okay, so... you need to hold the gun like this," Roy explained as he moved her hands to the right places and brought the gun up where it needed to be relative to her body. "Okay?" he asked.

She nodded and said, "Okay..." Her voice sounded a little breathy, but he supposed she was just nervous about shooting a gun for the first time.

"Now, you need to have a good stance. You could be knocked off balance if you don't," he explained before reaching down and moving her legs. He stood back and glanced at her before drawing his own gun. "Like this," he said, showing her. Her eyes wandered over his body before she nodded and adjusted herself.

"Do you want to go first?" he asked. He didn't want her to be intimidated by the fact that he was better than her. Not that he was really great, but this was her first time.

"Uh..." She looked nervously at the bottles, then at him. "Can I see you do it first?" He nodded and moved a little away from her. Readying himself, he took aim and fired.

"You missed," Riza said after a moment.

He glared at her, but she simply raised an eyebrow. With an irritated sigh, Roy took aim again, this time taking his time. He concentrated on the bottle the same way he concentrated to do flame alchemy. He pulled back on the trigger and the bottle shattered. Feeling a little smug, Roy glanced at her and said, "What about that?"

She grinned and made a sign of approval with her hand. He shot a few more times, hitting a couple more bottles, before he gestured that it was her turn. They traded places and he watched as she readied herself. Licking her lips, Riza carefully aimed the gun before nervously squeezing on the trigger. A loud gunshot rang out and the gun bucked in her hands causing her to step back a little.

"You alright?" he asked starting back toward her, but she only nodded and waved him off. Again she raised the gun. Her lips pressed together and focused hard. This time when she squeezed the trigger, she stayed in one place.

In the end, Riza didn't hit a single bottle. After the last shot was fired, she stood there, looking almost dejected, before finding a place to sit down. He watched as she held the gun in her hands and stared down at it.

Roy frowned. He supposed he would feel disappointed too if he couldn't even hit one bottle. Walking over to her, he said, "Don't worry, Riza, I couldn't hit much my first time either.

"You're worse with the gun than you are with flame alchemy," she said. "That's not saying much since you suck with that too."

"Hey!" he crowed. He'd been trying to be _nice_!

Turning her head to gaze up at him, Riza gave him a serious stare. "Which one will you rely on to keep you safe?" she asked solemnly.

He returned her stare for a moment before sitting down beside her. "Probably flame alchemy," he answered truthfully. "I want to become a State Alchemist and they usually rely on their alchemy more than stuff like guns or knives." He paused. "Sometimes they rely on others to back them up too."

"Oh..." she said and looked back down at the gun. "Who will protect you?"

Roy shrugged. "Maes, I guess." Her head came up and she gave him a look that said she wasn't sure she thought that was good enough. "He's not great with the gun either, but he's awesome with his knife."

She frowned and her face took on a gravity that almost made him want to console her. "He doesn't know enough about you to protect you. I mean... You're stubborn and stuff... He doesn't seem like the type that can handle you..."

"Thanks a lot..." he muttered.

"I mean it!" she said forcefully, then with a softer tone she said, "But _I_ know you..." She glanced down at the gun in her hands and her grip tightened on the weapon. "I will protect you..."

"Riza..."

When she looked back up at him he could see that her eyes were moist. "I will! One day I'm going to be the best shot ever and..."

"I don't think you're father will let you practice," Roy pointed out.

"He will," she said stubbornly. "And I'll join the military too."

"You have to be at least sixteen to join," he explained.

"I can wait," she said. "You just have to promise to stay out of trouble until then."

He frowned. The thought of having Riza trail him everywhere wasn't exactly a thrilling prospect, but it wasn't that thought that was on his mind right now.

"Riza, I'm... I'm touched; really I am, but..." He plucked the gun from her hands and held it tightly. He really was touched that she would care so much... "A gun is a weapon meant to kill people. Being a soldier also means that you'll need to kill people if you're ordered to. You don't want that, do you?"

"Well... no, but..."

He reached over and held her hands in his. "These hands aren't meant to kill, Riza..."

"And yours are?" she cried, snatching her hands away and wiping her eyes.

"I can take care of myself. Besides, if your father knew that you were joining the military because of me, I don't think you'd have to worry about me getting killed in the line of duty," he said wryly.

Instead of answering him, Riza simply stared down at her hands and sniffled softly. Unsure what to do now that would make her cheer up, Roy stood and walked back to the spot where they'd been shooting from. Pulling out his gloves, he slipped them on and reached his hand out to snap.

"Hey, Riza," he called with a grin. "What do you say we just get all the bottles all at once?"

When she looked up, Roy turned back to the bottles and snapped his fingers in quick succession. Each bottle burst outward with the heat he was creating inside of them, except for the last one which stood whole and intact while a pile of garbage beyond it burst into flame.

"Oops..." Roy murmured.

He heard an exasperated sound near him and looked over to see Riza standing next him with a small smirk.

"See!" she said, pointing. "That is why you need someone like me around. I don't need to protect _you_; I need to protect helpless civilians from your stupidity and carelessness!"

Roy grinned feeling pleased with himself. "But I did get all the other ones."

Throwing her hands in the air, Riza started walking away from him as she shook her head. He let his grin slip into a bland smile and started to follow her. He knew this would help her get herself together. That's why he would never tell her that he'd actually aimed for the trash heap at the end, and not the last bottle at all.


	22. A Good Woman

**-22-**

**The Mustang Chronicles**

**No Prompt**

**A Good Woman**

**-  
**"So how'd it go with the girl?"

Roy set the last of the plates on the table and scowled at Maes. "I'm ignoring you," he said irritably.

To this, Maes simply grinned and followed him into the kitchen for the cups and flatware. "It went well then?"

He opened his mouth to tell Maes he could go to hell, but stopped when he remembered his mother was hovering over the stove. Instead, he grabbed the cups and walked past Maes and back to the table.

"That's right," his mother said loudly. "I heard you went to teach Riza how to shoot. That was very sweet of you to take her."

"I was forced into it," he said sullenly. He was still mad at Maes setting him up. Seriously, were girls the _only_ thing his friend thought about? He looked up from the table and saw his mother scowling at him, so he added, "But I was happy to do it." It didn't help. She simply pressed her lips together before going back to her cooking.

"Don't listen to him!" Maes said cheerfully as he set down the knives. "Roy _really_ likes the girl. You can see it in his eyes."

Roy's mouth dropped open, then he hissed, "Don't tell her that!" His mother had long thought that Riza would make him a good wife someday, and he didn't want to give her any ideas. He didn't want to get married right now. He had his career in the military to think about. He needed to spend all the time he could studying so that he could become a state alchemist.

He glanced over to where his mother was pulling out the serving dishes. She glanced his way and gave him an approving look. "Well, it's about time you got some sense in that head of yours," she said. "You'll need a good woman to keep you in line."

Maes laughed and nudged him with his elbow. "Yeah, Roy," he said. "That's what you need. A wife!"

"That goes for you too!" Roy's mother snapped. "All men need a good woman at their side, and don't you forget it."

Maes's laughter cut off and his face took on a sheepish look making Roy smirk. "Yeah, _Maes_," he said, more cheerful now that he wasn't the only one in the spotlight. "When are _you_ going to find yourself a wife?"

His friend smirked and said, "I find wives all the time, but they're already married to someone else."

Roy laughed and shook his head. "I bet you anything that you get married before me." It was plausible. After all, he didn't know anyone who dated as much as Maes did, and he knew that his friend really would like to settle down with the right person.

Maes rolled his eyes as he helped Roy's mother—who had not been amused at all by his last comment—bring the food to the table. "Hardly. I'd have to find a pretty damn good woman for it to be worth settling down for."

"Watch your tongue, young man," Roy's mother snapped at Maes, then she looked at Roy and said, "Go tell your father dinner is ready."

Roy shook his head but did as he was told. Even if he did get married sometime in the future, he didn't want to be stuck with anyone as bossy as his mother, which meant that Riza was definitely _not_ a candidate.


End file.
